The 20th Century began with war between evangelicals or fundamentalists and liberals or modernists. Not only were doctrines under dispute but there was another dispute: was the gospel designed to address spiritual or social problems? It can be said that vast majority of the 20th Century saw the American Church split between liberals, who preferred a more social orientation (shaped originally by Walter Rauschenbusch), and fundamentalists (who divided into fundamentalists and neo-evangelicals) who staunchly preferred a spiritual orientation — and... Read more

I recently found myself reading Thomas Sowell’s newest book, Intellectuals and Society , a study of intellectuals — those who are dedicated to ideas and who, in his estimation, are growing in public influence but who are also woefully uninformed and wounding society. His complaint is basically that intellectuals are leftist, unaccountable to the public, immune to falsification and seemingly incapable of losing their reputation when they are (sometimes laughably) wrong. I’ve tried to read on both sides of issues,... Read more

Some are arguing strenuously against the megahit movie Avatar. The general complaints are that James Cameron’s movie, while a powerful visual experience, is: Pro-environment Anti-religious Liberal, left-wing agenda Anti-military Worship of nature What do you think? Read more

My Jesus of Nazareth class this semester has a new wrinkle. We begin by reciting the Jesus Creed, we have a short quiz, and then — here’s the new part — I read aloud 2-3 pages from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic: Discipleship (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 4) . I like the tile of this complete edition of Bonhoeffer’s classic. The original title was “Nachfolge” and so the same word is now in the official edition and translation: instead of “The Cost... Read more